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ORPHEUS 


ORPHEUS 

MRS.  FIELDS 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

Cl&c  Eiijersiiie  press 

1900 


Copyright,  1900,  by  Annie  FieUU 
All  rights  reserved. 


UT  MIGRATUEUS  HABITA 


405520 


y 


^^rijummt 


^^RPHEUSy  mourning  for  Eunjdice,  re- 
\^  fuses  to  accept  what  Ife  still  offers  him. 
The  godsy  loearied^  at  last  permit  him  to  seek 
her.  He  finds  Hades  full  of  shapes  indicat- 
ing human  woe.  His  heart  is  moved,  and 
he  tries  to  comfort  with  his  lyre  the  souls  of 
the  lost.  Suddenly  Eurydice  appears,  having 
left  her  happier  seats,  drawn  hither  by  his  notes, 
Orpheus,  beholding  her,  forgets  his  suffering 
companions.  She,  having  passed  into  higher 
conditions,  is  now  only  moved  by  the  love  which 
allies  itself  to  highest  good.  He  strives  to  draw 
her  back  into  the  bright  air  of  Thrace;  her 
heart  still  longs  to  succor  the  shapes  he 
threatens  to  abandon ;  in  vain  he  draws  her  on- 
ward to  the  fragrant  fields ;  he  turns  to  recall 

.  [1] 


argument 


to  her  their  former  joy ;  gently,  while  he  gazes 
upon  her,  she  recedes  from  his  grasp ;  then 
slowly,  without  violence,  fades  out  of  his  arms 
forever.  He  arouses  himself  as  from  a  dream ; 
he  is  in  Thrace,  alone,  at  his  house  door,  in 
the  glory  of  the  dawn. 

The  day  advances ;  pleasure  seekers  spread 
their  insidious  snares  about  him;  finally  he 
suffers  himself  to  he  led  whither  they  unll; 
gradually  they  close  around  him,  working  his 
destruction  and  death. 

The  Muses,  in  memory  of  his  divine  gift  of 
song,  restore  his  broken  lyre  and  hear  his  hody 
with  funeral  pomp  to  Olympos. 


[2] 


OKP  HE  us 


s 


Okpheus 
AIDST  thou  the  day  was  fair  ? 


DiONE 

{Mother  of  Aphrodite) 

Ay  !  and  I  said  the  arrows  of  the  dawn 
Had  put  to  flight  all  shadows. 

Orpheus 

Why  rouse  me  ? 
The  night  and  day,  the  starlight  and  the 

dawn 
Are  but  as  one  !    I  know  them  not  nor  feel. 
[3] 


ORPHEUS 


DiONE 

Yet  the  gods  call  thee  !  Must  indeed  all  life 
Droop  and  go  waste  because  thy  heart  is  sad  ! 
Wilt  thou  not  hear  them  from  the  field  and 

hill 
Piping  and  whispering,  longing  for  thy  lyre 
Yet  daring  not  to  ask  ? 

Orpheus 

Too  well  they  know 
I  cannot  play  again !     When  she  was  here 
Music  became  the  tongue  to  yoice  love's 

thought ; 
Now  love  himself  is  dead ;  or  if  not  dead, 
He  vanished  with  my  own  Eurydice. 

DiONE 

Hast  thou  forgot  the  great  ones  who  have 

loved 
As  thou  canst  not  ?   They  drew  her  to  their 

peace. 

[4] 


ORPHEUS 


Orpheus 
Who   can   forget   that   men   believe  these 

things 
Since  hour  by  hour  they  come  to  counsel 

me ! 
But  if  I  cared  to  speak,  't  were  easy  done, 
To  prove  these  others  love  not  as  I  love, 
Nor  ever  guess  the  svreetness  of  such  love, 
Nor  ever  knew  such  sorrow  as  I  know, 
Nor  ever  stood  so  lonely  at  the  front. 

DiONE 

Mother  of  lovers  am  I,  and  many  woes 
These  eyes  have  seen. 

Orpheus 
Why  take  the  gods  all  joy  away  from  life  ! 
A  feather  weighs  upon  a  saddened  heart ; 
While  for  the  happy  nothing  is  too  hard. 
Why,  my  love  gone,  must  ye  still  ask  for 
song  ? 

[5] 


ORPHEUS 


DiONE 

Wouldst  thou  in  truth  bring  thy  love  back 

once  more 
To  all  the  evil  of  this  pregnant  world  ? 
No  shield  hast  thou  for  her  save  thine  own 

heart, 
And  that  is  mortal !     Orpheus,  speak,  I  say ! 
Dar'st  thou  petition  Aides  now  to  give 
Thy   darling   to   thine   arms   and   promise 

him 
Never  to  lure  her  from  her  upward  way  ? 
Never  to  bind  her  in  the  ancient  track  ? 

Orpheus 
Ay,  0  Dione  !  but  why  askest  me  ? 

DiONE 

Because  no  other  creature  hath  done  this. 

Orpheus 

Because  no  other  creature  thus  hath  loved. 

[6] 


ORPHEUS 


DiONE 

Father  of  men,  ye  hear  him  !  gods,  ye  hear ! 
Now,  answer  Aides,  answer  to  his  prayer  ! 
Give  thou  him  back  the  body  of  his  love  ! 
He  fain  would  seek  thy  kingdom  while  he 

looks 
Back  on  the  household  ways  he  loved  so 

well! 
Though  mortal,  he  would  seek  the  phantom 

world 
Where  spirits  wander ;  try  the  untried  deep ; 
All  to  restore  her  to  the  fields  of  earth ! 
Is   this   thy   prayer?     Say,    Orpheus,   wilt 

thou  thus  ? 

Orpheus 
Somewhere,  I  know  not  where,  Eurydice 
Must  mourn  because  I  drown  in  misery ; 
Dark  is  the  tyranny  of  the  hateful  gods ! 
And  yet  men  say :  "  Behold  the  gods  who 
love, 

[7] 


ORPHEUS 


This  is  their  work  !  "     Give  me  Eurydice  ! 
Give  me  my  love  and  I  will  venture  all ! 

DiONE 

Knock  then  thyself  upon  the  awful  gates ! 
Take  thine  own  lyre  and  chant  thy  song  of 

love  ; 
Thus  Cerberus  and  the  watchers  of  the  way 
The  unrepentant  shades  and  they  who  guard 
The  throne  of  Aides  shall  lose  their  power, 
And  bow  before  thee  as  green  rushes  sway 
Before  the  breathing  of  the  summer  wind. 

Orpheus 
Haste,  haste,  I  go,  give  me  the  lyre  once 

more  ! 
When  death  has  taken  all  that  made  life 

sweet, 
We  follow  him,  how  dark  soe'er  the  path ; 
The  way  they  went  becomes  the  path  we 
love. 

[8] 


0   K   P   H   E   U   S 


DiONE 

Forget  thou  not  that  Aides  bars  the  road ; 
Unwelcome  comes  the  uninvited  guest 
To  his  dark  banquet ;  laurel  waits  for  him 
Who  waits  to  win ;  the  way  is  full  of  pain. 

Orpheus 
Behold  the  lyre  I  thus  armed,  I  go,  I  go  ! 

[He  departs  striking  Ms  instrument.  Later  he 
is  seen  turning  towards  the  valley  of  shad- 
ows.    He  sings : 

Where  art  thou,  O  where,  my  love  ! 

Vainly  I  ask,  in  vain  I  weep ; 

In  darkness  of  the  grave  I  move 

Nor  wake,  nor  do  I  sleep. 

I  pray  thee  whisper  now  to  me ! 

And  I  will  hear  by  day  or  night 

Thee  wandering  by  the  awful  sea 

Or  where  dark  woods  affright ; 

Whisper,  only,  to  the  leaves, 

I  will  catch  the  lightest  strain ; 
[9] 


ORPHEUS 


Or  if  thou  stir  the  rustling  sheaves, 

Thou  wilt  ease  my  pain ; 

Tell  thou  but  the  shaft  yon  sun 

Eastward  sends  when  day  is  low. 

Or  the  dew  whose  life  is  done 

With  the  morning's  glow  ; 

I  will  hear  thee,  darling,  where 

Thou  art  hid,  and  follow  thee  ! 

Dead  are  all  things  earthly  fail'. 

Thou  alone  art  life  to  me. 

A  company  of  Bacchante  approach,  singing 
Whirl,  whirl,  weave  and  dance ! 
Tear  the  clusters  from  the  bough ! 
What  care  we  —  but  who  art  thou 
Hither  melancholy  straying  ? 
Children,  we,  of  light  and  chance. 
Storms  about  thy  brow  are  playing. 

Nearer,  faint-heart,  wouldst  thou  come  ? 
Thou,  slow-footed  of  the  land ! 
[10] 


O  K  P  H  E   U  S 


And  what  bearest  in  thy  hand  ? 
Ha  !  a  lyre  !  't  is  Orpheus  leaving 
Far  behind  the  fields  of  home  ; 
Orpheus  silent,  hopeless,  grieving. 

Call  him  with  thy  little  horn, 
Sister  of  the  flaming  robe  ! 
Make  the  mystic  lyre  throb  ! 
Warm  him,  thou  in  samite  swinging ! 
Onward  by  our  circle  borne. 
Waken,  O  mysterious  singing  ! 

Sister,  give  a  shriller  blast ! 
Heedless,  while  we  subtly  weave 
Wiles  to  hold  him,  see  him  leave 
Us,  forgetting,  all  unknowing 
Of  the  joys  which  cannot  last. 
Where  the  long  green  grass  is  blowing. 

Ah,  who  knows  so  well  as  he ! 
He,  the  singer,  he  who  keeps 

[11] 


ORPHEUS 


Finest  sense  that  never  sleeps  ; 
Waking  hears  the  poplar  moving  — 
Scents  the  honey  for  the  bee  — 
Sees  the  thistle-down  go  roving. 

Orpheus,  why  forever  weep  ! 
Come  and  dance  while  day  is  here  ! 
List  our  voices !  never  fear 
Aught  but  pleasure  from  our  calling ! 
Gay  our  waking,  sweet  our  sleep, 
Come  before  the  dews  are  falling ! 

Sisters,  rest !  nor  weave  nor  dance  ! 

Now  he  sees  not,  now  he  hears  not ; 

Thus  to  wander  all  his  plot ; 

Thus  to  waste  the  day  in  dreaming ! 

All  unheeding  is  his  glance, 

All  unseen  our  raiment  streaming. 

Watch,  advance,  behold  his  eye ! 
Now  the  rhythmic  step  he  sees, 
[12] 


ORPHEUS 


Now  upon  the  wafting  breeze 
Comes  the  music  of  our  being ; 
Now  he  will  not  song  deny 
Nor  the  rapture  of  the  seeing ! 

Ha,  he  flouts  us !     Ha,  he  goes ! 
Bearing,  silent  still,  his  lyre. 
Heaven  deny  him  then  the  fire  ! 
And  if  love  of  her  is  dearer 
Won  by  weariness  and  woes 
Aides  draw  him  hell- ward  near  her ! 

\_They  pass  on  their  way  dancing. 

Orpheus 
These  creatures  seem  but  shadows !  to  the 

brain 
Grown  weary  with  long   sorrow  they  ap- 
pear 
Strange  phantoms !  and  they  ask,  alas,  for 

song! 
They  cannot  see  that  I,  a  listener,  hang 
[13] 


ORPHEUS 


Like  a  suspended  sense  'twixt  earth  and 

heaven 
To  hear  a  finer  music,  nor  can  give 
Save  what  is  whispered  me.    Now  all  is  still ; 
And  death  has  sealed  the  fountains  of  my 

song. 

What   said   these  ?     "  Unavailing   are   our 

tears,"  — 
We  lovers  know  that  tears  bedew  the  heart 
And  keep  our  sorrows  green.     Let  all  men 

weep. 
All  who  can  love  ! 

Now  to  the  gate  of  Dreams ! 
A  dim,  low  passage  for  a  thing  so  fair, 
But  I  have  searched  and  found  all  access 

barred 
Save  this  mysterious  path  where  once  I  met 
Her  veiled  face,  that  vanished  soon  as  seen ; 
Open,  ye  darksome  passage,  to  my  song ! 
[14] 


ORPHEUS 


Orpheus 
Tui'n  ye  on  your  silver  hinges, 

O  ye  gates  of  dream  ! 
Let  me  tread  the  shadowy  fringes 

Of  your  mystic  stream  ! 

[The  song  dies  away  ;  he  advances  and  is  lost 
in  the  shadows.  Presently  his  voice  is  heard 
once  more. 

Now,  my  beloved,  I  am  near  thee ! 

The  sun  is  set, 

The  day  is  gone, 

With  all  the  labor  and  the  fret 

Of  things  to  do,  of  things  undone. 

At  dawn  I  could  not  find  thy  face  ! 
In  the  great  music,  all  the  grace 
Of  love  that  filled  these  willing  hands 
With  labor  in  the  harvest  lands 
Awoke  no  canticles  of  praise. 

[15] 


ORPHEUS 


And  in  the  noon,  in  the  high  noon, 
The  contest  of  the  earth  and  sky, 
The  struggle  of  contrasted  will. 
From  the  mart  and  from  the  mill, 
The  agonies  of  triumph  and  of  loss 
Bound  me  and  held  me  where  the  pathways 
cross. 

But  now,  dear  love. 
The  awful  sun  is  set ; 
All  the  great  world  is  still ! 
The  planets,  the  white  moon, 
The  silent  stars  above 
Begin  to  work  their  own  mysterious  will. 

This  hour  is  thine  and  mine ! 

The  gateway  of  the  world  behind  me  lies 

Shut ;  now  am  I  free 

To  throw  me  in  thine  arms  and  rest  and 

weep 
Beyond  the  sphere  of  sleep. 
[16] 


ORPHEUS 


\_Another  pause,  —  again  Ms  voice  is  heard. 
Behold  a  shi'ouded  figure  !     Art  thou  she  ? 
Ah    no !    and    now   another !       What   are 

these  ? 
They  nearer  creep,  and  now  I  see  a  throng 
Of   men    and   women,   who   with    anxious 

brows 
Are  drawing  towards  me  full  of  eager  hope. 
They  wear  strange  forms,  but  this  one  once 

I  knew ; 
And  now  I  find  another  in  yon  face ! 
Their    figures    all   have    grown   misshapen 

here ; 
They  creep,  or  crawl,  or  bear  them  sadly 

bent 
As  worn  with  undue  burdens.     Ha !  they 

come 
To   lay   their   hands   upon   me !  but   they 

hide 
Their  heads,  and  impotent  advance ;  averse 
In  jealousy  that  one  should  see  them  thus, 
[17] 


ORPHEUS 


And  live  and  carry  back  the  bitter  tale 
Into  the  realms  where  men  yet  live  and 
love. 

Love !     The  word  bears  me  home  !     What 

can  I  do ! 
She  is  not  there ;  surely  she  is  not  here 
Commingling  with  this  crowd  of  dreadful 

forms ; 
Perchance  if  I  should  ask,  or  should  entreat, 
And  help  them  with  their  burthens  for  a 

space, 
Surely  they  would  forgive  me  and  would 

speak 
Of  what  they  know,  nor  curse  me  that  I 
came. 

He  advances^  sounding  his  lyre. 
Sorrowful  companions,  stay ! 
What  unsounded  deeps  of  wrong 
Have  ye  passed  to  find  this  way 
In  a  dreadful  throng ! 
[18] 


ORPHEUS 


Woe  is  me  !     I  did  not  know 

From  the  stem  such  fruit  could  grow ! 

Were  ye  motherless  and  lone  ? 
Knew  ye  never  guiding  hand  ? 
Heard  ye  never  pity's  tone 
Out  of  love's  green  land  ? 
Shadows  dark,  in  dark  are  ye ; 
Shapes  of  shapeless  misery. 

Must  I  seek  the  living  here 

In  these  chambers  of  the  dead  ? 

Through  this  dreadful  night  of  fear 

Has  my  darling  sped  ? 

Can  ye  cast  one  dismal  gleam 

On,  beyond  yon  blackening  stream  ? 

Slow  I  see  Truth's  awful  eye 
Like  a  dim,  unsetting  sun, 
Gazing  from  eternity 
On  my  life  undone  ! 
[19] 


ORPHEUS 


Whither,  whither,  from  this  blight 
May  I  turn  to  find  the  light  ? 

Long  my  disobedient  heart. 
Wandering  in  a  maze  of  grief, 
Wilfully  has  dwelt  apart. 
Dead  as  autumn's  leaf! 
Blind,  rebellious,  have  I  been. 
Now  I  see  and  know  my  sin ! 

Can  ye  tell  me  where  she  waits 
For  my  coming  ?     She  could  drive 
Evil  even  from  these  gates 
And  your  hearts  revive  ! 
Listen  for  her  lightest  call ! 
Have  ye  heard  her  footstep  fall  ? 
One  replies. 
Hollow  and  strange  are  the  voices  that  echo 

in  these  dark  dominions. 
Strange  are  the  forms  we  inhabit,  and  yet 
in  the  dark  thou  didst  know  us, 
[20] 


ORPHEUS 


Seeing  that  we  are  the  same,  and  our  faces 

betray  us  more  truly  ; 
We  are  the  same,  did  I  say  ?     Is  the  man 

there  the  same  as  the  child  is  ? 
And  the  tree,  though  bent  to  the  ground, 

the  same,  though  growing  unlovely  ? 
Eternal  is  life,  and  we  who  haye  yielded  to 

wrong  or  indulgence 
Day  by  day  we  are  changing  in  shape,  while 

unconscious  we  wander 
Till  glassed  in  the  eyes  of  our  mates,  we  see 

the  distortions  of  evil. 
Builders   indeed  were  we   made,  and   the 

framers  of  fate  unforeseeing, 
To  build  with  the  hours  while  they  speed, 

to  grow  while  the  sunsets  are  fading. 

But  vain  is  the  teaching  of  souls,  when  the 
whisper  of  pleasure  is  sweeter. 

Thy  question  is  useless  indeed;   we  know 
not  ourselves  where  we  wander. 
[21] 


ORPHEUS 


Dear  is  the  face  of  a  man,  and  the  voice  of 

a  brother  unhoped  for. 
Stay,  ah !  stay,  and  tell  us  again  if  indeed 
thou  canst  help  us. 
[They  stretch  their  shadowy  arms  towards  him, 
as  he  turns  from  them, 

Orpheus 
Look  !  behold,  a  vision  comes ! 
My  beloved,  is  it  thou  ! 
Paler  than  when  flower-strewn  rooms 
Sheltered  thy  fair  brow. 
Ah  !  the  sorrow  I  have  known ! 
Ah !  't  is  thou,  the  perfect  one. 
A  pale  form  floats  toward  him. 

EURYDICE 

Orpheus,  beloved ! 
Thy  lyre,  I  hear  it. 
Thy  voice  and  none  other ! 
The  love  of  immortals 
Rings  over  thy  pauses. 
[22] 


ORPHEUS 


I  have  waited  and  listened 
To  hear  thy  soft  clangor  ; 
Too  long  all  was  silent ! 
Our  joy  was  delaying ! 
Where  wert  thou,  beloved, 
While  sorrow  was  longing 
To  list  thy  consoling  ! 

Orpheus 
Loye,  without  thee  I  was  dumb ; 
'T  was  thy  spirit  bade  me  sing ; 
Only  when  toward  thee  I  come 
Will  my  lyre  ring. 
Thou,  my  life,  Eurydice, 
Fade  thou  not  again  from  me ! 

Eurydice 
Where  are  the  sufferers, 
They  who  were  with  thee, 
Troop  of  the  woe-worn  ? 
Wert  thou  not  pleading 
[23] 


ORPHEUS 


How  out  of  darkness, 

Through  grief  and  repentance, 

And  grace  of  Olympos, 

Their  hearts  should  be  changed  ? 

Too  great  was  thy  labor 

For  one  newly  born  ! 

I  listened,  I  pleaded, 

I  carried  thy  prayer  up. 

And  flitted  towards  thee 

To  lighten  thy  burden 

And  show  thee  the  path ; 

Where  have  they  vanished  ? 

I  see  them  not,  Orpheus. 

Orpheus 
How  could  I  know  !  in  this  dark 
They  have  hid  themselves  away ; 
Out,  like  an  extinguished  spark. 
Fell  the  di-ead  array. 
When  the  whiteness  of  thy  face 
Made  a  lamp  in  this  black  place. 
[24] 


ORPHEUS 


EURYDICE 

Swift,  let  us  find  them  ! 
Draw  from  thy  lyre 
The  tenderest  longing ! 
Their  hope  of  forgiveness 
Is  waning  in  darkness. 
Ah !  tell  them  once  more 
The  love  of  the  holy  ! 
Sing  as  thou  sangest 
When  first  I  heard  thee 
Afar  by  the  throne ; 
My  heart  turned  to  listen 
And  knew  the  dear  accents, 
And  leaped  to  behold  thee  ! 
O  Orpheus,  beloved. 
Save  now  the  forsaken. 
The  wretched,  the  lonely ! 
For  this  tune  thy  lyre, 
Sing  thus  and  forever ! 


[25] 


O  E  P  H  E   U  S 


Remember,  my  Orpheus, 
They  sought  thee,  the  sad  ones 
Who  dwell  on  the  earth-plain, 
When  first  I  was  taken 
Away  from  thine  arms ; 
For  now  he  will  sing  us 
They  cried,  us,  forsaken. 
Of  the  light  of  the  future, 
The  joy  of  his  bride  ! 
He  will  know,  they  protested. 
The  secrets  long  hidden, 
The  meaning  of  pain. 
What  gladness  to  him 
To  companion  the  lonely, 
To  soothe  the  distracted. 
To  nourish  the  hungry, 
The  waiting  ones  cried. 
But  alas  !  only  wailing. 
And  blackness,  and  mourning. 
And  silence  for  music 
Was  found  in  the  land  ! 
[26] 


ORPHEUS 


Now  hast  thou  discoyered 
The  way  of  renewal, 
The  pathway  of  love ! 

Orpheus 
Plead  thus  ever  !     Let  me  stand 
Listening  thus  to  hear  thy  voice 
Patient  in  this  clouded  land. 
Haven,  not  of  choice ! 
Darling,  backward  let  us  roam 
Toward  the  sunny  vales  of  home. 

EURYDI  CE 
Faintly. 
Hear'st  thou  no  wailing  ? 
See'st  thou  not  figures 
Dim  in  the  darkness 
Stooping  with  burdens  ? 
Follow,  beloved  ; 
Vainly  they  beckon, 
Vainly  they  search  for 
[27] 


ORPHEUS 


The  path  interdicted. 

Once  more  strike  the  chord ; 

Bid  them  draw  nearer, 

Nor  seek  what  is  hopeless, 

Nor  thus  yearn  and  suffer. 

But  chant  to  them,  Orpheus, 

And  tell  them,  together. 

In  love  and  in  longing 

We  pray  for  them,  carry  them, 

Through  the  great  future. 

Out  to  their  peace. 

Orpheus 
Who  has  been  moving  hack,  and  drawing  her,  uncon- 
sciously, after  him. 
Come  thou,  Eurydice !     I  breathe 
Airs  that  long  have  been  too  strange  ; 
See'st  thou  not  yon  soft  blue  wreath  ? 
Eeel'st  thou  not  the  change  ? 
Roofs  of  home,  what  sight  so  dear ! 
Hasten,  hasten,  we  draw  near ! 
[28] 


ORPHEUS 


EURYDICE 
More  faintly  still. 
Where  are  they,  where  ? 
Yonder  I  see  them 
They  point  us  back  earthward, 
Where  fain  they  would  follow ; 
Back  to  the  sweetness 
Of  earth  and  the  sun. 
Again  they  have  vanished ! 
Ah,  let  us  not  leave  them 
Wailing  in  anguish ! 

Orpheus 
Grasping  Eurydice  and  gazing  hack  upon  her. 
Eurydice,  behold  our  door  ! 
Was  there  ever  scene  so  fair  ? 
See  the  hillside's  grassy  floor  ! 
Breathe  this  flower-strewn  air ! 
What  is  this  !     Eurydice  ! 
Thou  turn'st  thy  face  away  from  me ! 


[29] 


ORPHEUS 


EURYDICE 

Lov'st  thou  me,  Orpheus  ? 
The  world  then  will  hate  thee ! 
The  past  days  are  yanished, 
They  bury  their  dead ! 
Come,  follow  and  succor 
With  love  and  rejoicing 
The  spirits  repentant. 

\_She  disengages  herself  from  him. 

I  go !     Wilt  thou  follow  ? 
The  pathway  is  easy ; 
Come,  quick  now,  descending 
My  garments  shall  guide  thee, 
I,  flitting  before  thee. 
\_She  is  gone  ;  Orpheus  stands  dassled  in  the 
light  of  morning^  alone. 

Orpheus 
Day,  day  of  the  earth,  how  garish  is  thy 

light ! 
My  dawn  has  vanished,  she  was  all  my  sun ! 
[30] 


ORPHEUS 


Was  it  in  dream  I  held  my  love  again 
There  in  the  fearful  dark  of  Aides  world  ? 
Was   it   in   dream  I  strove   to   bring   her 

back 
Out  of  the  blackness  to  her  radiant  home  ? 
I  thought  I  lured  her  to  this  upper  air 
To  see  the  shafts  of  morning  gild  the  roof 
That  sheltered  our  young  love. 
Truer  that  vision  than  this  waking  hour ! 
More  welcome  that  dark  region  than  this 

pain ! 
She  strove  to  lead  me  to  my  finer  self, 
And   I,   and   I  —  listened,  but  would   not 

hear ! 
In  spite  of  all  the  warnings  of  the  gods, 
I  turned,  and  looking  back  on  the  old  days. 
Could  not  believe  that  I  must  follow  her 
Into  a  rarer  ether  washed  of  this, 
If  I  would  win  my  way  whither  she  dwells 
Immortally ! 

im 

[31] 


ORPHEUS 


Ah !  Now  I  see,  too  coarse, 
With  robes  of  flesh  upon  me,  is  my  sense. 
I  was  not  ready,  and  I  could  not  stay ! 
A  long   and  weary  road  these   feet   must 

pass 
Before  they  find  that  holy  lamp  again. 
"  Cease  not  to  strike  thy  lyre,"  behold  she 

said! 
And  thus,  perhaps,  her  spirit  will  not  fail 
Yet  to  forgive,  and  whisper  in  my  song 
And  yield  the  motiye,  else  the  strings  are 

mute. 

He  sings. 
Close  at  thy  side,  I  climb  the  steep, 
After  the  day,  when  eve  is  fair,  — 
The   young  moon  leans,  the   young   dews 

weep, 
I  draw  thee,  through  the  frosty  air 
Up  to  an  unknown  height 
In  the  lone  night. 
[32] 


ORPHEUS 


Climb,  ever  climb  !     I  hold  thee  yet 
Within  the  solitude  of  rooms ; 
In  midnight  hours  when  moons  are  set, 
Or  summer  sleeps  in  mist  of  blooms 

Still  do  I  hold  thee  near, 

O  thou  most  dear ! 

I  seem  to  hear  her  speak ! 

Now,  all  is  still ! 
Alas !     Alas ! 

[He  weeps. 

In  the  distance  are  seen  the  Bacchantae^  who  again 
advance  dancing  and  singing.  Suddenly  they  per- 
ceive Orpheus. 

Look  !     Ah,  look !     'T  is  Orpheus  there  ! 
Now,  wild  sisters,  seize  your  prey  ! 
Dark  with  clouds  his  brow  to-day ; 
Whither  have  his  feet  been  straying 
Since  we  saw  him  full  of  care. 
In  what  wilderness  delaying  ? 
[33] 


ORPHEUS 


TJwy  app7'oach  nearer^  chanting  in  wily  and  caress- 
ing tones. 

Come,  beloved  Orpheus,  come  ! 
Do  not  fear  our  merry  troop. 
Here,  within  the  flying  loop 
Of  our  scarf,  behold,  is  hidden 
One,  the  sunlight  of  thy  home ! 
Happy  lover,  hither  bidden ! 

Orpheus,  attracted  to  the  gay  circle,  looks  in  vain 
among  the  dazzling  group  to  find  Eurydice.  He 
faintly  strikes  the  lyre  and  sings. 

Youth  and  love  are  fled  together  ; 

Where  are  they  ? 
Will  they  come    again  in  the    Summer 
weather, 

When  earth  is  gay  ? 

Again  he  sinks  into  reverie ;  then,  as  if  lighted  by  a 


O  love,  who  art  our  very  self,  a  thing 
More  dear  than  what  we  call  our  very  own ! 
[34] 


O  K  P  H  E   U  S 


How  should  we  discords  play  on  that  fine 

string 
And  our  heart's  queen  discrown  ? 

Must  thy  seat  yet  stand  empty  at  the  feast  ? 
Shall  no  one  fill  the  place  of  that  sweet 

ghost  ? 
Her  presence  walks  when  we  attend  her 

least, 
Nor  comes  when  longed  for  most. 

0  heart  of  flame  !     The  day  is  dying  down  ; 
The  sunset  fades  apace !     Claim  one  more 

kiss! 
This  little  hour  is  all  that  we  may  own  ! 
The  dawn  is  bred  of  this ! 

\_He  gazes  intently  in  hope  of  seeing  Eurydice. 

(The  Bacchantae  shout^ 
(Ha !     Ha  !     Still  he  seeks  his  love  !) 

[35] 


ORPHEUS 


Orpheus,  strike  thy  lyre  again ! 
Sound  the  gay,  the  dancing  strain 
You  and  she  have  timed  together. 
Long  ago  in  yon  fir-wood  grove. 
In  the  fruitful  autumn  weather. 

Sisters,  onward,  find  the  wood. 
Swifter  than  the  long-eared  hare ! 
Onward  through  the  scented  air 
Sisters,  to  the  shaded  pleasaunce ! 
Fruits  and  dropping  nuts  our  food 
And  the  tame  and  shining  pheasants. 

Bid  him  here  forever  dwell ; 
(Sisters,  do  not  break  the  ring !) 
Here  he  shall  forever  sing. 
Quickly  cast  the  scarf  about  him  ! 
Draw  him,  hold  him,  all  is  well ! 
Now  shall  no  false  footstep  rout  him ! 

\_Orpheus,  catching  the  spirit  of  youth  and 
pleasure,  moves  in  the  dance,  and  plays  th^ 
[36] 


ORPHEUS 


lyre  as  he  moves.  They  pass  through  a 
woodland  path,  into  a  green  pleasaunce,  where 
the  hng  hours  flit  away  in  dalliance.     JSud- 


Orpheus  chants 

Hear  ye  the  hermit  thrush  ? 

All  heayen  is  in  his  yoice  ! 

Dance  ye  and  be  gay  ! 

I  pause  to  hear  what  the  bird  shall  say, 

Who  maketh  choice 

Of  the  green  dark  and  holy  hush. 

Born  of  the  dark, 
Music  is  mine. 
Music  and  wine  ; 
Child  of  the  spark. 
Born  into  pain, 
Thine  shall  remain 
The  loss  and  the  gain. 

[37] 


ORPHEUS 


Children  of  earth, 
The  hour  of  death, 
The  hour  of  birth. 
Slow  is  the  coming, 
Awful  the  breath. 

Bacch  antae 
In  anger. 
Out,  alas !     We  are  too  late ; 
He  has  touched  forbidden  fruit 
And  poisoned  pleasure's  very  root ! 
Not  for  us  his  broken  measure ! 
He  has  stolen  through  death's  gate 
Striving  thus  to  snatch  his  treasure. 

Seize  the  robber !     Cast  him  hence, 
Fling  him  down  the  death-black  stream ! 
What  to  us  is  ghost  or  dream ! 
Gone  is  all  his  hope  of  glory ! 
Naught  to  us  is  where  or  whence. 
Naught  is  time,  and  naught  is  story. 
[38] 


ORPHEUS 


Scornful  are  we  of  his  tears  ! 
He  who  loves  nor  death  nor  life, 
Ever  groaning,  still  at  strife 
Thus  because  his  love  has  vanished ! 
Death  he  fears,  and  life  he  fears, 
From  the  joy  of  love  self-banished. 

Tear  him !     Rend  the  hated  limbs ! 

Cast  them  on  the  trusty  wave, 

Wave  that  givest  what  life  gave 

Back  into  the  deathless  waters ! 

Let  our  curses  be  his  hymns ; 

Fling  him  down,  love-crowned  daughters ! 
\_In  wild  fury  they  cast  themselves  upon  him, 
and  he  is  seen  no  more.     Far  away,  in  the 
dawn,  the  head  of  Orpheus  and  the  broken 
lyre  are  discovered  floating  in  the  stream 
while  the  Bacchantae  dance  away,  their  fig- 
ures outlined  upon  the  green  hill-tops. 
Slowly   the  Muses  approach  and  follow  the 
winding  shores  until  they  gather  the  sacred 
relics,  whence  they  hear  them  to  Olympos. 
[39] 


ORPHEUS 


During  the  funeral  rites,  Erato  leads  the 
chant,  striking  the  restored  lyre  of  Orpheus. 

Funeral  Chant  of  the  Muses 
Gather,  ye  lovers,  on  the  sacred  hill. 
For  here  a  lover  lies  ! 
And  weep  ye  for  the  music  that  is  mute  I 
Nor  lyre,  nor  flute, 
Nor  nightingale  can  fill 
The  heart  nor  flood  the  eyes 
With  tenderness  like  his  ! 
Wilt  thou  refuse  me  this 
0  lyre  !  to  sing  our  sorrow, 
To  chant  our  loss  ! 
May  grief's  bitterness  not  borrow 
Sweetness  from  thy  source  ? 

Tell  me,  lyre. 
What  song  will  he  desire, 
He  who  alone  was  master  of  thy  chords  ? 
Will  he  forbid  our  tears 
[40] 


ORPHEUS 


Knowing  all  grief  must  pass  ? 

All  grief,  all  fears  ! 

Come  lovers,  late  I  hear, 

(Come,  lay  your  ear,) 

A  sudden  stirring  as  of  streams  in  Spring ; 

A  leaping  note  of  gladness 

After  waste  and  sadness  ; 

Now  the  chords  responsive  ring  ! 

Behold  them  lead,  in  steadfast  joy  and  real. 

The  immortal  chorus,  chorus  hymeneal. 


[41] 


Electrotyped  and  printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &'  Co. 
Cambridge,  Mass,  U.S.  A. 


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